In the past year, the Cooper household has been an undesirable place to reside for a young Betty Cooper. She's the last sibling of three still at home and she's developed a bit of resentment towards them. Her sister Polly was the first to go. While not the oldest, she was declared the problem child at a young age. She'd had a rough go of things, trying to ease Betty's exposure to their mother's overbearing ways by putting the attention on herself. By her junior year in high school she had quite the reputation as a party girl and was shipped away to live with their grandmother in northern Maine when she'd gotten pregnant. That had been eye opening time for Betty. She hadn't realized just how much of a bully her mother could be, but with Polly gone, she was pushed to be more perfect than ever. Polly now lives with her high school sweetheart and their twins in the city. Betty is happy for her, really she is, but it's the fact that she left her here to face their mother alone that has caused her resentment.
Charles, their older brother, had stuck around for a few years after Polly had gone. Charles was born of Alice's first marriage and he had been six years old when she and Hal had gotten together. Their father Hal has always had a temper, and Charles had always been the greatest protector of his sisters, standing up for them and taking their scoldings. Hal's dislike for Charles made it easy for him to turn his anger on the young boy. There had even been a few times growing up when Betty and Polly had stood by in shock, watching as Charles and Hal worked themselves into a show of dominance in the form of a wrestling match on the living room floor. Though Charles was just two years shy of thirty when Polly moved to New York City, he refused to leave Betty entirely alone. It wasn't until just after his thirtieth birthday, a mere two months ago, that he'd finally made the move to the city as well.
The past year has been a mess of court dates and paperwork, Alice finally deciding to leave Hal after all these years. Their last argument had been the final straw, ending with Hal slapping Alice across the cheek. In all the years they'd been together, all the fights and bitterness, never once had Hal actually laid a hand on her. She'd been so shocked, so perturbed that she'd had divorce papers drawn up the very next day. Now, just the two of them, with Charles no longer concerned for Betty's safety, Betty and Alice make the move back to Alice's hometown of Riverdale, a long six hour drive from Betty's childhood home and honestly, it feels like a fresh start.
Around 4:00 PM, they arrive outside their new home. Alice had taken Hal for all that he was worth in the divorce and naturally she had won with her traumatized Stepford wife charade. Betty gets out of the car before Alice has even cut the engine to take in their new home. It's much bigger than necessary, two floors, three bedrooms, two main bathrooms, one up one down, as well as a private bathroom in the master. She's only seen pictures of it on the realtor's website, but it's everything she would expect her mother to want in a house. White marble countertops in the kitchen, wood floors throughout, seamless white trim above and below and French doors to the back patio where an in ground pool had been put in just three years ago. It's a nice house, but Betty can't help but feel Alice went a little overboard in making the point that she'd won.
As she scrutinizes the bright floral wreath hung on the front door by the realtor, she's startled by the sharp calling of "Elizabeth," in her mother's shrill voice.
"I said come help me with this."
"Sorry," she apologizes quickly, making her way over to the car to retrieve boxes from the trunk.
On her third trip back down to the car, Betty narrowly avoids crashing into a broad shouldered redhead carrying a stack of boxes.
"Woah, hey, sorry," he laughs, "Didn't see you there."
"It's fine," she smiles as he sets the boxes down in the living room.
"I'm Archie," he offers. "I live next door. Thought you guys looked like you could use a hand."
"Yea, thanks," she says appreciatively. "I'm Betty."
Archie nods, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets as Betty rocks back on her heels.
"Hey, so uh, me and my buddy are gonna be hanging out later," he says with a swipe of his hand through his hair. "Just pizza and probably video games, but you could come. If you want I mean."
"Oh, uhm-"
"You don't have to," he reiterates, "Just figured we're neighbors now, might as well be friends right."
"Right," Betty smiles. "I'd love to, I just-" She looks over her shoulder at her mother digging around in the trunk of the car. "Let me see what I can do."
"Yea, sure, of course," he nods, his smile hopeful as he backs towards the door. Betty does her best to stifle her grin as he bumps into the door frame on his way out.
Around 7:00 PM, Alice calls it quits for the night, breaking out a bottle of wine from one of the boxes in the kitchen. Betty looks on curiously as she digs out two coffee cups, removing their newspaper wrapping and giving them a quick rinse in the sink.
"I think we deserve a celebratory drink," Alice declares. Her smile is almost unsettling as she pours a fair bit of wine into each mug and hands one to Betty.
Betty takes it cautiously, glancing between the pale golden liquid in her cup and her mother's uncharacteristically happy face.
"To new beginnings," she says, raising her cup in the air.
"To new beginnings," Betty repeats, clinking her cup against her mother's.
She waits for her mother to sip first before partaking in her own, an odd sense of calm lingering between them as their bellies are warmed with alcohol.
"This is nice," Betty says in a hushed tone.
"It is, isn't it," Alice agrees. "It's been a long time since I felt at ease like this."
Betty smiles at the corner of her mouth and takes another sip of her wine. She's had wine before, plenty of times at dinner, and she's done her fair share of partying with her sister. Her drinking of alcohol is nothing new, but it feels so strange to be enjoying a drink with her mother of all people.
"So, I saw you talking with that redheaded boy," Alice comments indifferently. "Archie right?"
Betty nods. "Yea. He uh, he just said he's having a friend over for pizza tonight and asked if I'd want to go hang out."
"And," Alice presses as she pours more wine in both of their cups.
"I don't know," she shrugs. "I figured we'd be busy, but I told him I'd ask."
"You should go."
Betty's mouth falls open in shock, her brow furrowing as she searches for her words. "Are you ok," she almost laughs.
Alice rolls her eyes. "Am I really that much of a monster? Go. Make some friends before school starts in the fall."
Betty nods, taking one last sip of wine before rushing out the door for fear of Alice changing her mind. Maybe this really will be a new beginning for them.
Across the yard, Betty paces on the sidewalk. She's never been great at making friends, people just sort of gravitate towards her, but to actually put herself out there is nerve wracking. Gathering her wits with a steadying breath, she makes her way up to the front porch of Archie's house and rings the doorbell.
An older man, probably around her mother's age answers the door with kind eyes and a welcoming, "can I help you?"
"Uhm, yes. Hi. I'm looking for Archie," she stutters.
"Ah, you must be Betty," he grins.
Betty nods.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Fred, Archie's dad," he offers. "He and Jug are up in his room if you'd like to go up."
She offers an appreciative smile and follows his gesture to the stairs. Halfway up, she looks back over her shoulder, encouraged by the kind smile and nod of assurance given to her by Fred, who's still at the bottom of the stairs.
At the top, Betty follows the sound of laughter and deep voices to the first door on the right. It's open just a crack and it swings slowly open with the tap of her knuckles against it.
"Betty! You came," Archie beams, dropping his controller as he gets up from a beanbag on the floor. "Jug, this is Betty, she just moved in next door. Betty, Jughead."
Behind Archie in a second bean bag chair, a tired eyed boy offers nothing more than a shy wave and Betty is intrigued. She offers a gentle smile in return, silent laughter touching her lips as he quickly looks away with a blush on his cheeks.
"Here. Sit," Archie offers, giving Jughead a pointed look that says shove over.
Jughead does so hesitantly, giving Archie a glare and Betty has to try hard to keep her grin under wraps as Archie scolds him with his eyes. With Archie's insistence, Betty takes a seat beside Jughead who is very clearly uncomfortable.
"I don't bite," Betty teases, just loud enough for Jughead's ears and she hears him swallow hard as he averts his eyes back to the TV in front of them.
The boys quickly get back into their game, Betty happy to watch as they bicker. Their game ends in a huff, Archie tossing his controller to the floor with the death of his character before the two of them break into laughter.
"You guys are intense," Betty laughs.
"You should them eat," Fred comments from the doorway. "Pizza's here."
Jughead is the first one out the door, Fred stepping aside as Archie shoves past to get there before Jughead can eat it all.
"Are they always like this," Betty chuckles as she steps into the hall with Fred.
"Afraid so," he nods, silent laughter written all over his face. "I'd get down there if you want a slice, just watch your fingers."
Betty laughs and hurries down the stairs after the boys.
In the kitchen, she finds Jughead and Archie seated around two pizza boxes at the table as they stuff their faces.
"Sit," Archie offers through a mouthful, nodding at the free chair across from him.
Betty takes a seat with a smile in her eyes and peeks into the half opened pizza box.
"You already ate an entire pizza," she says in shock. "It's been like two minutes."
Archie shakes his head, "Jug already ate an entire pizza. This is my second slice."
Jughead meets her shocked expression momentarily before averting his eyes and reaching for a napkin to wipe his mouth. To both her and Archie's surprise it seems, Jughead places a slice of pizza from the second box on a paper plate and offers it to Betty.
"Thanks," she says softly as she takes it from him.
Jughead gives a curt nod before digging back into his own slice. He watches her curiously out of the corner of his eye as she picks the pepperoni off her slice, stacking them on the side of her plate.
"You want them," she questions upon catching his gaze. Sensing his hesitancy, she slides her plate across the table towards him and he carefully takes the stack between his thumb and middle finger before scattering them on the remainder of his slice.
Over pizza, Fred now joining them, Archie questions Betty about her move. She does her best to give details without relaying what a mess her family is, but she's surprised by how much Fred already knows.
"Your mom and I dated briefly in high school," Fred chuckles, earning faces all around. "We stayed in touch for a while but I haven't heard from her very often since she married your dad. Funny, she almost married Jughead's dad after graduation."
Betty and Jughead look to each other in shock, earning laughter from both Fred and Archie.
"Dodged a bullet with that one," Jughead mutters bitterly as he picks at a bit of cheese on his plate.
"Why's that," Betty wonders, looking around the table for answers, but no one seems willing to reply. Betty only nods, recognizing a sore subject when she sees one.
"When do you have to be home," Fred asks, changing the subject.
"Oh, uhm, my mom didn't really say," she replies. "I can go though, if you wanted to get to bed or something."
"You're welcome to stay as late as you like," he assures her. "Just wanted to make sure Alice was alright with you being here."
Betty nods, offering an appreciative grin as Fred begins to pick up their plates.
"I'm heading up to bed, no summer vacation for us old folks," he chuckles. "You kids have fun."
"Night dad," Archie calls after him, Jughead offering a muffled, "night," with a mouthful of pizza crust.
After cleaning up in the kitchen, the three teens relocate to the living room. Every Sunday night, Jughead and Archie watch a popular zombie apocalypse series and Betty is thrilled to join them. She used to watch the show religiously, but with the divorce and the move, she's fallen behind a few episodes.
"Wait, Glen's dead," she says with shock.
Archie pauses the show, both he and Jughead staring at her with wide eyes.
"You missed that episode," he scoffs. "Unacceptable. We're going to have to watch some reruns Jug."
Jughead only nods in agreement and Betty can't help but giggle.
Thirty minutes later, Betty is nearly in tears as she watches the brutal murder of one of her most loved characters while Archie and Jughead cringe at her sides.
"That was awful," she sniffles, patting at the dampness beneath her lashes.
"Are you crying," Archie questions with a smirk.
"Of course I'm crying," she laughs.
The three of them share a laugh, Betty feeling a bit silly for crying over a fictional character before they return their attention to the screen.
It's nearly midnight by the time they get to this week's episode and Betty is beyond exhausted. She begins to doze off, startling awake by a particularly loud scene. Jughead is quick to soothe her with a protective arm around her shoulders out of instinct. Just as quickly as he'd done it, he takes his arm away to tug nervously at the crown rim of his beanie. Betty is intrigued with his quick response, it being reminiscent of her brother protecting her during a thunderstorm and she finds herself craving the return of the weight of his arm. With her bottom lip trapped nervously between her teeth, she reaches out to touch his arm, drawing his attention as her fingertips graze his skin. He seems to understand, glancing nervously at her pleading expression before allowing her to tuck herself into his side, his arm draped over her but his hand just hovering above her hip.
Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Archie glances over at Jughead, a sly grin crossing his lips as he takes in the sight of Betty curled up snugly into his side. Jughead shrugs discreetly with his free shoulder to which Archie silently encourages him to grab her ass with a glance at his hovering hand. Jughead shakes his head, glaring as they wordlessly argue over it. Archie rolls his eyes, ignoring his glare as he forces Jughead's hand down to give her bum a squeeze. Betty nuzzles deeper into Jughead's side, her hand lazily moving to rest low on his abdomen and Archie snickers with the tight squeeze of Jughead's eyes.
Though he's mildly uncomfortable, Jughead allows his hand to stay where it is for the remainder of the episode. He's never been this close with a girl before and it's definitely doing funny things to him. She smells like vanilla and he's glad he hadn't changed out of his jeans with the light tickle of her fingertips resting just above his waistband, his zipper being the only thing concealing his quickly growing problem.
With the end of the episode, Jughead gently wakes Betty, who startles slightly as she recalls where she is. She smiles up at him, earning a shy grin as she sits up. With the stretch of her back, Archie and Jughead walk her home, making plans to hang out tomorrow.